1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to vehicle seat belt shoulder harness apparatus, and in particular, to an apparatus which will increase the comfort level of a user wearing a seat belt shoulder harness.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
It is often desired to increase the comfort level of a user of a vehicle's seat belt shoulder harness. Well-known solutions for this problem include the placement of pads and cushions around the seat belt shoulder harness. While shields and vests may affect the comfort level of the user, prior art devices utilizing shields and/or vests were more concerned with safety, and specifically with distributing the forces sustained by the user upon an automobile collision.
None of the prior art is directed toward an apparatus which will increase the comfort of the user and decrease wrinkling of the user's clothes by lifting a portion of a seat belt shoulder harness away from the user, while still allowing the seat belt shoulder harness to move back against the user so as to restrain the user upon the occurrence of an automobile collision or a sudden stop.
A preliminary patentability search in Class 280, subclasses 801.1 and 808, and Class 207, subclass 482, produced the following patents, some of which may be relevant to the present invention: Efrom, U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,463, issued Sep. 9, 1986; LaPointe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,495, issued Sep. 15, 1987; Saenz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,401, issued Oct. 13, 1987; Jay, U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,080, issued Nov. 22, 1988; Weightman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,190, issued Jan. 3, 1989; Copes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,378 issued Jun. 13, 1989; Huspen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,793, issued Jul. 18, 1989; Li, U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,824, issued Nov. 10, 1992; and Sweger, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,366, issued May 25, 1993. None of these references, either singly or in combination, disclose or suggest the present invention.